


Of Departures

by yaruna



Series: Of Years Gone By [27]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, Legolas POV, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5298437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaruna/pseuds/yaruna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein Legolas tells his father he will go with the Fellowship</p>
<p>Legolas POV</p>
<p>All parts of the series are stand-alone one-shots, though some may have references to previous happenings</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Departures

It had been decided.

I sat in one of the beeches outside of the Halls, with a letter from Elrond hanging from my fingers. I had read it several times, so I knew it word by word, but was unable to resist looking at it again. The company leaving on the quest of The Ring had been decided upon, and I was asked to be a part of it.

When I had left Imladris after bringing news of the creature Gollum’s escape, I had not even considered that Elrond would choose me to represent the Elves. There were many that were better suited than I, many with more experience in the ways of the world. This contributed in giving me mixed feelings about accepting the responsibility. I had to, because the fate of Middle-Earth could be dependent on it. At the same time, I was hesitant in leaving our Realm as the darkness was drawing ever closer.

I leaned my head back against the trunk of the tree and took a deep breath. I needed to speak with my father, but I knew not how I was going to convince him to let me go, when I was facing such difficulties in convincing myself.

There was no more delaying it, however. I needed to leave as soon possible, so I gave the tree one final farewell before jumping down and going in search of my father.

He was sitting on his throne, weary. Word had reached me that a patrol had recently returned with fewer numbers than they had left with and I knew such news always weighed heavily on the king. The darkness was indeed creeping ever closer upon our realm.

‘My lord,’ I said, hand to my heart. The pain that I saw in his eyes at that moment, though it quickly passed, took me aback. He had not meant for me to see it, but I knew him far too well for him to be able to hide from me. He sat up straighter in his throne and looked down at me.

‘Legolas. I should be joyed to see you, and yet I fear that the news you bring are not ones of joy.’

‘This is true, father,’ I said and hesitated, not knowing how to continue. Normally I was not this worried when speaking in front of my father. I dreaded the disappointment and the abandonment that I knew I would see in him. ‘Elrond sent a message today.’

My father let out a soft breath in a sigh. He had been expecting this news.

‘I heard someone from Imladris had arrived with bearings, and gathered they must have been brought for you when none appeared.’

‘Yes. The members of the company that shall set forth with The Ring have been decided upon.’

‘And you will go,’ he said as a statement.

‘With your leave, my lord,’ I said, bending my head slightly, and I looked away from his piercing gaze.

‘I do not see the point in this quest. It is not our fight,’ he said flatly and I raised my eyes again. His lips were stretched thin, and he had arched his left eyebrow ever so slightly. He was upset, but not angry, not yet.

I noticed that I was clenching my fist at my side and forced myself to unclench it. His indifference to the world beyond Mirkwood had always been a sore point for me; something that I had never quite understood. I still did not understand it, and I grew annoyed with him.

‘Do we not reside in Middle-earth? It is our fight, more than most, for our woods are being poisoned.’

‘And also, Aragorn is going?’ he said sharply, cutting to the core of why there was no alternative for me. Another reason why I had to go.

‘He is, I will not deny it. I have sworn to protect him since I first met him.’

‘He travelled to the North without you. He left you,’ he said, with the intention of hurting me, and I did feel a small twist in my heart at the old memory. He had left, and it had not been unwillingly on his part. I had felt resentment, at first, but as time continued I had come to understand.

‘We have lived many tales together, but some must be written alone, and some must not. I fear that if I leave him alone for this quest, he shall perish, and all of us with him.’

‘And shall I not allow it?’ He rose and walked down the stairs to stand directly in front of me.

I had feared for this. I had feared that he would not understand why I needed to leave. I have never gone so far as to outright disobey my king’s command, and I did not wish to do it now. If I did, there would be no possibility of a return to Mirkwood for me.

‘Then I shall have to choose, and I beg of you to not make me do this,’ I said, anguished.

‘For your choice will not be in my favor,’ he said sadly and turned away from me. ‘Go! Go to Imladris, follow this Halfling, and Aragorn, and then return to me.’

There could be no promises. We did not know what would happen on the journey. But I would do my best. It was all any of us could do.

I pressed my fist against my heart and bowed, and before I had straightened I had two strong arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace.

I wrapped my arms around him in turn and breathed in the smell of my father. The smell of humid rocks, overtaken by the sweet smell of woods that I have grown up with and will always remind me of home.

‘Be safe,’ he whispered into my ear in a trembling voice and loosened his hold. I reluctantly let him go and was certain that my eyes were just as shiny as his.

‘I shall try,’ I said, feeling how my eyes were stinging, and I turned away to leave

‘I fear letting you go,’ he said quietly before I had a chance to take a step, ‘more than I did all those years ago when you went after Tauriel. I fear that this time, you shall not return to me.’ He mirrored my own fears, and I could not turn back around and attempt to relieve him of his pain. If I did, I was certain that I would not be able to go.

I took a deep breath, and walked out with my heart in my throat, feeling his eyes following me until I turned the corner where I let my first and only tear fall.

For Middle-Earth, for Mirkwood, for my father, for Aragorn, and for myself, I needed to follow this through to whatever end it may bring.

I hoped I would not regret it.

 


End file.
